The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-10-08

1t seems that late one evening ne
was standing in his own door when
suddenly serape was thrown over his
head by some unknown persons ana
drawn so tightly as to prevent any out
cry; then he was placed in a carnage
and driven rapidly very long DIS
lance, as he supposed. Doubtless the
rapid drive, they having returned 10
nearly the same point whence they
started, was intended for a "blind,
and he never believed himself so near
home. The faces of his captors he
never saw, for they were closely
masked, and they visited him only at
night by the dim light of lanterns.
Having gagged and bound him. they
first talked of taking down a portion
of the wall and bricking him up, leay-
ing loose place where a brick or two
could be removed when it would be
necessary to feed him; but fortunately
for him, they decided upon the floor as
less troublesome to themselves. Tear
ing up plank and placing him under
it he was found to be too corpulent,
! despite all their crowding, to allow the
board to fit in place again, so little
earth was dug away to accommodate
him with living sepulchre. A few
small holes, bored above his face, adj
mitted sufficient air to keep him in eX-
istence. and there he remained for
weeks, helpless, voiceless, entombed
alive within sight and sound of home,
while his friends were rausacking the
world for him. Every night his cap
tors came, removed the plank and
hauled him up, and with the point OF
dagger at his throat took out the gag
and gave him food, and then walked
him up and down the room awhile for
exercise. By and by he grew so weak
as to be incapable of cutlery or resist
ance, and then his keepers forced slim
ulants down his throat, and dragged
him about for needed exercise, desiring
to keep the breath of life in him as long
as money might be forthcoming. FL
nally, believing him about dead, and
that all resources of profit had been ex-
hausted, they added mental torture to
his misery by assuring him that his
friends had refused to pay any thing
for his ransom, and, crowding him
under the plank again, they left him to
die at leisure. 1t happened that very
night that a heavy storm came up, and
beggar entered the deserted dwelling
for shelter, by chance seating himself
upon the board under which Cervantes
lay. Hearing faint moaning, APP
parently proceeding from the lower re-
gions, the fellow was frightened nearly
to death, believing that it came from
some ghost, and he ran straightway to
the nearest priest. Strangely enough,
in this lazy country, where supersti-
tious fancies are of common occur
renee, search was instituted, and what
remained of poor Cervantes was res
cued--not an hour too soon.
A few months later a rich old man
disappeared in much the same manner.
Search was instituted and diligently
kept up for long time, but not the
slightest trace of him was found The
usual placards demanding money fol
his ransom were posted again and
again, sometimes accompanied ty the
most piteous appeals purporting tC
come from the victim himself, bu
though the family were anxious to give
any amount for his release they were
, not permitted to do so, the govern
: ment having determined to put stol
: to the kidnapping business, which coulC
only be done by destroying the in
: centive. Long afterward, through thu
confession of dying ranchero to hi
t priest, the fate of the old man was dis
closed. For several months his alb
ductors had kept him, gagged anC
, bound, hidden in a deep, dry well
Every night they hauled him up, fet
} him enough to sustain life, and torture,
I him in every diabolical manner the,
, could conceive without making an ent
of him in order to make him devils
2 some means by which they could wr.in,
, money from his friends. As time wor
4 on and no money came, their fieudis
: rage knew no bounds, and they de
= lighted in tormehting him to the ut
a most limit of human endurance The
. burned his flesh with heated irons, tor
5 the nails from his fingers and toes, du
out his eyes, pulled his tongue wit
5 pinchers, and finally tortured him t
S death.
The dying ranchero's story was sui
0 stantiated by the searching of the spo
/ indicated-in a vacant field near tn
G Viga canal, a few miles from the Cit
g of MeXico-and in the bottom of tn
Il long disuscd and forgotten well wa
y found the skeleton. -MeIicO Letter i
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